Imperative Appoints Professor Jaboury Ghazoul of ETH Zurich as Senior Scientific Advisor; Launches Strategic Collaboration on Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration

Imperative today takes a defining step in strengthening independent scientific rigour as a core component of how nature-based infrastructure projects are designed, delivered, and managed. 

Singapore, Zurich — 24 March 2026 

Imperative, the Nature Infrastructure Company™, today announced the appointment of Professor Jaboury Ghazoul, Professor of Ecosystem Management at ETH Zurich, as its Senior Scientific Advisor. This appointment is accompanied by a formal research collaboration with Professor Ghazoul’s Ecosystem Management research group at ETH Zurich, embedding independent scientific expertise directly into Imperative’s project design, development and management process. 

Appointment of Professor Jaboury Ghazoul as Senior Scientific Advisor 

Professor Ghazoul is Professor of Ecosystem Management within ETH Zurich’s Department of Environmental Systems Science. He is a globally recognised leader in applied ecological sciences, with over 35 years of experience working across diverse tropical and temperate ecosystems worldwide.   

His research team is internationally recognised for its thought leadership and applied research in forest ecology, landscape restoration and management, participatory landscape assessment, and technology-enabled, community-based approaches to ecosystem governance. These disciplines are directly aligned with complex, multi-stakeholder landscapes in which Imperative operates. 

The appointment embeds deep, independent ecological expertise into Imperative’s project design, development and management processes — not as a retrospective review function, but as an active input from the earliest stages of project development. As institutional and regulatory scrutiny of ecological outcomes in carbon markets intensifies, Imperative regards independent scientific oversight as core operating infrastructure. 

Professor Jaboury Ghazoul, Professor of Ecosystem Management at ETH Zurich, said: 

“Ecosystem restoration at scale demands more than ecological ambition — it requires science that is rigorous, site-specific, and embedded directly in how projects are designed and delivered. Working with Imperative’s team across its portfolio offers a rare opportunity to connect research with implementation in the landscapes, and at the scales, where it matters most. It is at the integration of science and practice that the most durable restoration outcomes are achieved.” 

Areas of Strategic Collaboration  

The strategic collaboration between Imperative and ETH Zurich’s Ecosystem Management Group will initially focus on three areas: 

• Applied Restoration Initiatives. ProfessorGhazoul’s team will provide scientific input into the ecological design, baseline characterisation, and biodiversity assessment across Imperative’s project portfolio. 
• Scientific Tools and Analytical Frameworks. The teams will co-develop technology-enabled decision-support tools and monitoring frameworks for restoration planning, stakeholder engagement, and landscape-scale ecological assessment — supporting the development of projects that are genuinely co-designed with, and deliver benefits to, local stakeholders.
• Joint Field Science. Across Imperative’s project pipeline, ProfessorGhazoul’s team will provide ongoing scientific input on ecological assumptions, restoration strategies, and monitoring approaches — ensuring that each project reflects current best practice in restoration science. 

John Nagulendran, Chief Growth & Investment Officer of Imperative, said: 

“This collaboration — spanning ecological baseline design, decision-support tools, and field-validated research — reflects what institutional capital now expects. Investors and offtake partners want independent scientific oversight embedded in projects, not added as a compliance exercise.  We see the work undertaken by Professor Ghazoul’s team in digitally enabled ecological discourse analysis, and in the participatory co-design of projects with communities and local stakeholders, as central to delivering successful and enduring restoration outcomes.” 

The parties anticipate the collaboration expanding into new project geographies and methodological frameworks as the portfolio develops. 

About Imperative  

Imperative, the Nature Infrastructure Company™, develops and operates large-scale, infrastructure-grade ecosystem restoration projects with measurable climate, biodiversity, and community outcomes. Operating under a build-own-operate model across South Africa, Peru, and emerging landscapes in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, Imperative designs, finances, and manages ecosystem restoration underpinned by long-term offtake agreements, institutional capital structures, and rigorous scientific and technical standards. www.imperativeinc.com 

About the Ecosystem Management Research Group, ETH Zurich 

ETH Zurich is one of the world’s leading universities for science and technology, consistently ranked among the top institutions globally in the natural sciences and engineering. 

The Chair of Ecosystem Management is led by Professor Jaboury Ghazoul, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and one of the most widely cited researchers in his field, with five books, over 240 peer-reviewed publications and more than 28,500 academic citations.  

The group works at the intersection of ecology, social science, and applied policy, with active programmes spanning tropical agroforestry systems, forest and landscape restoration, and biodiversity-driven agricultural systems. It is distinguished by its use of technology-enabled participatory modelling approaches — including agent-based models and strategy games — to engage land managers, farming communities, and policymakers in the co-design of restoration strategies. Senior scientists within the group bring complementary expertise in community-based resource governance, socio-ecological transitions, and the development of decision-support tools for landscape-scale planning. https://ecology.ethz.ch/  

Contact 

John Nagulendran
Chief Growth & Investment Officer
john.nagulendran@imperativeinc.com